


Teddy Bear Picnic

by redradioflyer



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: 1P2P America, Alfred F. Jones - Freeform, M/M, baby!Amelia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 13:24:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16833490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redradioflyer/pseuds/redradioflyer
Summary: Tommy is a single dad, and sure, he looks a bit of a rowdy guy with the tattoos and the piercings. He's a total sweetheart, though, and Alfred is about to find this out for himself.One-shot





	Teddy Bear Picnic

It’s every parent’s nightmare- waking up and finding their child nowhere in sight. Tommy hadn’t even been out that long nor had he meant to fall asleep. The park is always a little lonely on Thursday morning, and Tommy likes to take little Amelia out to play. He’d been sitting on a bench watching his adventurous 8 month old baby girl, Amelia, play in the sand.

The thing is, though, that he’d also been up until 3 with her. She’d been colicky and angry, crying as hard as she could. It’d taken Tommy hours to soothe her down and get her to fall asleep. The little girl’s mom had showed up with a baby and a birth certificate that listed him as the father before dropping off the map again. So he’s always dealing with all these late night angry baby fits on his own.

Honestly, Tommy isn’t even sure if the girl is biologically his, but blood has never been a great indicator that people will get along. All Tommy knows is that little girl is his in all the ways that count, and he adores her.

Which is why when he wakes up on the park bench he’s in an utter panic.

It had been an accident. After being up so late and with the sun so warm, he’d found himself dozing. He should’ve picked his girl up instantly the first time his eyes started to close, but she’d been so happy playing in the sand that it felt mean to end her play so soon. They hadn’t even been there that long yet, and Amelia would’ve definitely kicked up a fuss.

Still, a fuss is much better than missing. He begins to shout for her, panic in his voice as he looks around for places that might have tempted the girl to crawl off- if she’d just went on an adventure and someone else hadn’t picked her up…

Bile riles in his throat at the thought, and he shouts louder, pausing between to listen for her tiny baby voice to answer.

“Amelia!? Amelia!!!”

—

Alfred is having a picnic in the park with his big golden retriever Maggie. They’ve been playing fetch for a bit, and Alfred had thrown the ball a bit too far. There are trees and forest walks in this park, and though it was nothing big enough to get lost in, it makes for nice peaceful places to play or sit by yourself.

Though this has happened a few times where the ball sailed on through the trees, this time Maggie hadn’t come back yet. It usually takes her a few minutes anyways because once she’s in the trees, she likes to scamper around and play. Wondering if the pup had found a rabbit or squirrel to torment, Alfred sighs and starts after her.

What he finds instead is a bit more startling.

Maggie has found a baby. From the dirt and grass stains on her dress and pants, it’s clear this little lady had crawled her way through the trees. She has Maggie’s ball in one hand and is petting the dog with the other. Maggie doesn’t honestly seem all that bothered about the ball and is instead licking the little girl’s face and hands. The girl bounces on her butt and giggles like anything. She babbles happily, though not using any particular words, and Alfred smiles.

“Hey there lil Miss,” Alfred says as he leans down. “What’re you doing out here huh?”

He picks her up, and she bounces in his arms, trying to get back down to play with his dog. Maggie doesn’t seem to understand why Alfred has interrupted their play either and tries to jump up on him.

“No, Mags, down. We gotta find this lil girl’s parents yeah?” He knows there’s a kid’s playground on the other side of these trees. “You got pretty far, lil lady.”

The girl doesn’t seem too pleased, and she throws the ball down. She’s hoping, perhaps, that he’ll have to stop and pick it up. But he doesn’t because Maggie snatches it up. This apparently pleases her too, and she gives a small squeal of delight. She really wants to play with Maggie more, and she’s stretching out her chubby baby arms towards her.

But this is when the shouting start, frantic upset cries of “Amelia! Amelia!”

Instantly, the little girl reacts to this man’s voice, head turning toward the sound. Though she probably doesn’t understand why he sounds so frantic, the tone of her dad’s voice has her face scrunching up in distress and her breath hitching as though she’s about to cry.

“I take it you’re Amelia, huh?” Alfred says, feeling a little out of his depth. “Shhh lil lady we’re almost there.”

He breaks through the last few trees into the kid’s area of the park just as Amelia begins to wail a long babble of “Daaaa-daaaaaaa-daaaaaa-daaaaaa,” as if it’s just one long word. The man near the sandbox turns, and Alfred sees relief on his face as he rushes forward to grab the girl up in his arms.

“Shhhh, Amelia, baby, Daddy’s here,” the man says softly. “It’s okay. Daddy’s gotcha; don’t scare me like that okay??”

Alfred takes a polite step back and he lets this father comfort his baby. He pets the top of Maggie’s head and holds her back a little- she clearly wants to get involved and rub up against this man and his kid. For a moment, he wonders if this guy is a reliable parent.

This stranger has dyed red hair and a tongue ring that catches Alfred’s eyes as he talks. Besides that, he’d let his baby wander off pretty far… But Alfred also sees the tears of relief on his cheeks, and he sees the dark black circles under his eyes. It’s obvious that he loves this little girl, and in all fairness, this could’ve happened to any parent who had been stressed and overworked.

Here is a man in need of a little help, and Alfred loves being helpful. He could make sure this person has a pleasant lunch at least.

—

Tommy forgets himself for a minute- his whole world is reduced to Amelia and the relief of having her back and safe. He holds her and coos at her for several minutes before realizing he still needs to thank the man who brought her back out of the trees. He wipes his eyes as discreetly as possible before looking up into this man’s face.

… and he freezes, his cheeks getting hot.

This man is gorgeous- big baby blues behind wire frame glasses and a smile that lights up his whole face. Tommy licks his lips a bit self-consciously and offers a hand.

“Thanks for bringing her back over here,” he says as he shakes his hand. “She’s a bit of an adventurer. Sorry to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble,” the man says back. Even his voice seems full of sunshine. “I think it might be my fault anyways. My dog was out in the trees chasing stuff. I think she might’ve wanted to say hi.”

“Still…” Tommy says, though he has to look away from that golden boy smile as Amelia begins struggling in his arms. She’s babbling and reaching for the big golden retriever at the man’s side. “Amelia… C’mon now, he probably doesn’t have time to stay and play huh?”

“Naw, it’s okay. Maggie’s real sweet with kids. Used to belong to a neighbor with four or five little ones running around before they moved into a building that didn’t allow pets.” He shrugs and flashes that smile again. “Besides, we’re in no hurry, right Mags?” 

Maggie is wiggling around and barking in an excited sort of way. She is leaning up and licking at Amelia’s bare feet (which makes the little girl giggle and squirm harder). There’s another thing he needed to find then- her tiny baby sandals. After a moment of watching his daughter reach for the big excited puppy, he finally nods and sets her down to let her play. He would keep a close eye on them, but the dog hadn’t hurt her so far. Indeed, even when Amelia is playing with the big pup’s ears, the dog is gentle with her.

“Thanks, really. She loves dogs,” Tommy says, unsure of what to say. He looks back over toward the sandbox… there’s one shoe… and another, good.

The man notices his distraction because he leans into his line of vision a little. It’s probably the cutest thing a man has done for him in a long time. There’s that slow sweet smile again, and he speaks.

“But hey listen. Me and Maggie were having a lonely lil picnic on the other side of the trees. You and your little lady are free to join in. I,” here he pauses, taking some sort of stock in his head. “I have like apple sauce maybe.” His expression changes again, this time looking inquisitive and slightly perplexed. “Wait babies can eat that right??”

Tommy’s heart is pounding now, and he thinks he might suddenly believe in love at first sight. This man is so expressive and earnest, and Tommy is startled by how charmed he is before he even knows the man’s name.

Still, the question makes him laugh. “Amelia is big enough for apple sauce as long as there’s no added sugar or anything. Though, I do always keep food for her in the diaper bag.” Tommy pauses and arches a brow, grinning. “Do you have enough food for me, is the better question. You just packed for you and your pup yeah?”

“Oh actually,” he replies, cheeks turning pink. “I never really can decide what I want before going on a picnic. I end up packing a whole bunch of stuff- more than I need- because I’m not sure, ya know? So I, uh, should have plenty enough.” 

Tommy is starting to smirk now, getting over his initial surprise and becoming a bit more flirtatious. He enjoys flirting rather a lot. Although he’s not sure if this man is simply being friendly yet, he’s definitely going to make his feelings pretty well known before the morning was out. Usually he strikes out a lot now. While having a child could make women coo over him- flirt with him even when they find out he’s a loving single dad- usually people just see Amelia as a complication and an added burden.

These rejections never feel as bad as they could though. Anyone who could see his lovely amazing little girl and think of her as a burden or a complication isn’t worth the time of day anyhow.

“Well then,” Tommy says as he offers his hand. “Let’s go on a picnic. My name’s Tommy, and you already met Amelia.”

“Nice to meet you,” he replies and shakes his hand for the second time. “I’m Alfred.”

Below them Amelia squeals as she manages to get up onto two shaky feet while she clings to Maggie’s side. She hadn’t quite learned to walk yet, but she could stand and take a few steps before falling back on her diaper again.

“Let me grab Amelia’s shoes and stuff, and you can lead the way.”

“Sure,” Alfred says back. “I’ll introduce myself to the lil lady properly huh?”

And Alfred swoops down to snatch the little girl up and hold her as he introduces himself. “Hey there hun! My name’s Alfred!”

Amelia babbles back at him and tries to steal his glasses. Alfred scolds her teasingly and doesn’t seem to mind that she’s leaving fingerprints on his lenses. He starts to make airplane noises, and he helps her fly.

Oh he’s a definitely a keeper, and Tommy intends to snatch this man up as quick as he’s able.

—

Alfred is surprised by how much he likes Tommy. Usually he found dyed hair and piercings a little intimidating, but Tommy is all ease and confidence. Despite how tired he obviously is, he’s talkative and interesting, and Alfred decides that he finds the man rather attractive.

Beyond that, Alfred sees how gentle he is as well- how much he loves and cares for his little girl. He watches as Tommy takes mental checklists of all of Amelia’s little things- her toys, her shoes, her pacifier, and her bag. Tommy keeps an eye on her as she plays with Maggie, and he sits at her side to teach her how to play fetch.

“It’s a game she’s already pretty good at,” Tommy confides to Alfred. “She likes to drop things on the floor and watch Daddy pick them up. Ain’t that right sweetie?”

It does seem to be something she enjoys - the added fun of a large excited dog wiggling and playing has Amelia squealing and babbling in a high happy voice. Well, she’s excited about it, but she’s not particularly good - her tiny fingers can’t really grip onto the ball very tight or throw it very far. Tommy helps her out until Alfred gets an idea. He pulls out a (well chewed) stuffed toy bear and tosses it over.

“Give her that. Maggie knows a game to play with a baby with that one.”

And so Maggie does. She shakes the toy and hops around tiny Amelia while the little girl valiantly tries to catch the toy. It looks like any game of keep away that a child might play with a dog or cat.

Except in this case, the dog has the toy and is teasing the baby with it. Maggie will drop it down into Amelia’s lap or next to her legs, and the girl will squeal in success as she tries to pick the whole toy up in her tiny chubby hands. Then, Maggie’ll snatch the toy away again and start to shake it and toss it around. Amelia giggles and squeals and plays, completely ignoring Tommy when he tries to talk to her.

So Tommy leaves Amelia to her game and turns to talk to Alfred.

“Your dog really is good with kids,” Tommy says. “Maybe I should hire her to babysit sometime.”

“She’d love you for it,” Alfred says back as he pulls over a picnic basket. “I’m pretty sure she thinks all tiny kids are her puppies, and she tries to play with them all. It’s the one thing I’m sorry about with her living with me. No kids to play with.”

“Oh, so it’s just you and your dog then yeah?”

“Yep, just us two,” Alfred replies. “So Maggie tries to make friends with all the kids in the park.”

“So I see,” Tommy says after a moment, smirking. “You aren’t the type to use your dog to pick up people in the park, are you?”

Alfred’s face and ears go rather hot at the thought, and he shakes his head. “I mean it’d be a little rude to flirt with people when their kid is right there. ‘Sides, there’s not many good ways to, uh, even tell if they’re single.”

“Sure there are,” Tommy replies. “If they’re not wearing a ring or if they’re being flirty, I think that’s a fair time to think they’re single.”

“Is that how it works?” he says back, and he laughs. “There’s the problem then. I have a pretty bad time of figuring out if someone is flirting with me.”

“Do you now?” 

There’s something in Tommy’s expression that has Alfred flustering again, and he’s suddenly quite sure the other man is definitely flirting with him. He’s not sure how he feels about that for a moment, but when Tommy’s cool act suddenly drops as he turns toward his kid, Alfred thinks maybe he doesn’t mind this man flirting with him.

“Hey hey no, Amelia no, doggies don’t need binkies! You don’t have to share with her!!” He has to take her pacifier from her, and he looks down at it sadly. “That’ll need to be cleaned before she can use it again.” 

Alfred waits until he’s settled again before he says, “So if I asked you if you had a lady at home, you wouldn’t find that weird at all?” He tries to keep his tone light and amused, as though he’s simply returning to the conversation from before. His ears give him away though- they’re a little pink. 

“Well, if you phrased it that way, I might be a bit irritated,” Tommy says, suddenly smirking and leaning in closer. “Because then you’d be making assumptions. I don’t have a sweet man waiting for me at home either.”

“Ah, I see,” Alfred says as he clears his throat. “Sorry about that then.”

Tommy starts to speak again, but Alfred is suddenly quite sure that it’s going to be something rather teasing. So Alfred cuts him off by offering him food. Although Tommy arches a brow at him, he doesn’t push, and instead they have lunch. Alfred attempts rather valiantly to feed Amelia for her tired father, but he’s not so great at it. Sure, she manages to eat some of it, but a lot of it still ends up on her chin and dress.

Even though Alfred feels kind of bad about it, Tommy assures him that this is actually a rather standard part of feeding Amelia—especially if she didn’t particularly like what he was trying to get her to eat. He’s really stern though, about food, and he makes sure she eats plenty of healthy things no matter how difficult she makes it.

—

Tommy finally gets real one on one time with Alfred when Amelia leans over onto Maggie’s side and takes a nap. The dog seems pleased with the arrangement and takes a nap with her. So he leans back and gives Alfred a smile.

“So golden boy,” he says. “What exactly do you do- I mean besides rescuing babies who wandered off?”

“Me? I work at a robotics development place.”

“Wait what?” Tommy’s eyes go wide, and he starts to laugh. “So you’re a tech guy? A big brain? That’s pretty cool actually.”

Alfred turns bright red at this, and he rubs the back of his neck. “I mean I wouldn’t say a big brain or anything like that. I just like making stuff.”

“Still, it’s pretty amazing. I imagine that’s a good paying job huh?” Tommy leans in against his side and looks up into his face.

“Yeah, it’s alright,” Alfred says. He doesn’t pull away, and he actually leans in a bit closer to him. “What about you? What do you do for a living?”

Tommy hesitates and looks a tad embarrassed. “It’s a lot less interesting. I work in a beauty shop. The pay isn’t terrible, but it was a lot better before diapers and doctor bills ya know??”

There’s sudden concern in Alfred’s voice, and he tilts his head. “You aren’t hard up for cash for baby care are you?”

Normally a question like that would piss Tommy off, because it tends to come with a measure of pity. Not Alfred though- he has a look in his eyes that says if Tommy needed money to take care of his baby girl, Alfred would give it to him. Even though they barely knew each other, Alfred would do it if he thought it meant there was a happier healthier kid out there.

“Naw, nothing like that,” Tommy says back. “Just means Amelia doesn’t have as many nice toys as she deserves, is all.”

Alfred relaxes and smiles that golden boy smile, and he says back, “Toys don’t matter so much when you got a lovin’ parent to play with you though huh?”

Tommy’s heart speeds up, and he has to resist the urge to lean in and kiss that sweet sweet smile. They just met—that would be awkward right? In a club or something, it might not be so strange but to kiss a stranger you just met in a park??

Well honestly sounds pretty nice too. Much more romantic in fact.

“Okay before we do anything else, I want your phone number right now hot stuff,” Tommy says. “Cause you been sweet talking me all afternoon.”

Alfred turns a lovely shade of red, and he gives a little embarrassed smile. “Yeah sure,” he says back. “So long as I get yours yeah?”

“Of course~” Tommy takes his phone and puts his number in.

—

They spend the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing. Amelia and Maggie get up from their nap, and they spend a bit more time playing. When it’s time for Alfred to get going, he hovers shyly near Tommy on the path. “Well uh, hey, if you ever need that babysitter me and Maggie would be happy to.”

“Sure thing,” Tommy replies. "I’ll see you soon, wonder boy." 

And though Tommy doesn’t get the kind of kiss he wants, Alfred turns a lovely shade of pink when he kisses his cheek.

—

Alfred got the call about babysitting Amelia pretty soon afterwards. For all the joking that he’d babysit, he really had been hoping for a more romantic proposal than “watch my kid while I go do things.” Still, he doesn’t mind it. The little girl is quite cute, and Alfred knows Maggie will be happy to say hi to her again. If nothing else, it gives him a good reason to see Tommy again.

When he shows up at the door, Tommy answers pretty quickly. He’s still just as cool and confident as Alfred remembers, and his cheeks turn a little red as Tommy grins at him.

Maggie greets Tommy before Alfred is able to, jumping up on him for pets and kisses before she’s satisfied. It ruins Tommy’s cool greeting a bit perhaps but it’s a short-lived distraction. She must hear little Amelia somewhere else in the house because her ears perk up, and she moves off in that direction. 

“Thanks for doing this,” he says as he lets Alfred in. “You were so good with her before. I’m sure Amelia will be happy to see you again.”

“No problem,” Alfred says as he pulls his shoes off at the door. He looks up from untying his shoe and tries to make conversation. “What’re you up to tonight huh?”

“A date, I hope,” Tommy says as he stands close and leans in against the wall.

Alfred jolts a little and looks up at him. “A date?? Really? With who?”

He tries to keep the disappointment out of his voice. He isn’t sure if the hurt shows on is face or not, and he stands up, straightening his clothes a bit. The way Tommy is looking at him though- excited, amused, naughty- is making him feel self conscious.

"I mean if that’s not invasive?”

Tommy laughs and moves in close, practically pinning him back against the door.

“You, actually,” he says with a smirk. “I was hoping to have a date with you." 

The effect is instant, and Alfred blushes darkly. He flusters and can’t quite meet his eyes, because somehow he knows he’ll be more embarrassed then. “Uh, a date would be nice but who’s gonna watch Amelia?”

“I figured we could watch her together. Have some dinner- watch a movie. It’s hard to find reliable babysitters at the last minute for dates ya know? I made surprise dinner for you already and everything.”

It only takes a few moments for Alfred to think it over.

“Sounds like a great date to me,” he says honestly. “But if you’d said so in the first place I would’ve brought flowers instead of a toy and maybe dressed a bit nicer.”

Tommy’s smirk slips just a bit and he furrows his brow. “Toy?”

Alfred feels a bit self-conscious. He shifts his weight to his other foot and reaches into the bag he brought to pull out a teddy bear with yellow fur dressed like Supergirl.

“I dunno. I thought Amelia might like something like this. Took forever to find a baby sized Supergirl shirt and skirt set that wasn’t pink. Supergirl doesn’t wear pink ya know??? And I remembered what you said about the whole toy thing, and little girls need heroes right so I…”

He’s starting to ramble a bit- a habit he has when he’s nervous- but suddenly Tommy grabs him by the collar and pulls him in to kiss him roughly on the mouth.

“It’s perfect, Alfred,” he murmurs. “Much better than flowers.”

Alfred is very red when Tommy pulls back, but he’s smiling rather brightly anyways. He clears his throat. "W-well let’s get this date started then huh?" 

Tommy gives him a rather adorable smile in response and takes his hand to lead him into his home.

**Author's Note:**

> For omake consider this:
> 
> Amelia starting to talk more and learning to say “Daddy” real well but having problems with Alfred so she calls him “Alfie.” Imagine her learning really soon how to say DADDY NO because at first she’s saying it to get Tommy to stop tickling her. Or feeding her things she doesn’t like. But it becomes a joke because if she shouts it and points at him, he’ll freeze at whatever he’s doing and look scared. (“DADDY NO!” Tommy freezes mid way through putting a dish into the cabinet. “whyyyy ameliaaaaa”)
> 
> Imagine her learning “ALFIE PLEASE” pretty early too because while please doesn’t help with Daddy much, Alfred is such a softie that if she ‘pleaaaaaase Alfie pleaseeee’s him she’ll probably get what she wants. Imagine alfred calling her lil britches and carting her around. 
> 
> Imagine a slightly older child Amelia who likes happy meals, but Daddy won’t buy them because they’re unhealthy. But every now and then if the toy is *really* good, he’ll cave and let Alfred buy her one. Imagine her hearing the door come open and she knows Alfie has her happy meal and her running to the door shouting Alfie Alfie Alfie!!!


End file.
